


星の涙 (starry tears)

by sheepling



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Choi San is Whipped, Fluff and Angst, Idiots in Love, Jung Wooyoung is Whipped, Light Angst, M/M, Memory Loss, Mutual Pining, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Sort Of, Woosan, a gift for my platonic wife!, and they were ROOMMATES, hanahaki disease but its minor, harold theyre gay, idk what else to tag im not good at this, its kinda short ngl but idk if it counts as short and sweet, no beta we die like oda :(, short and kinda angsty but everything will be okay theyre just dumb, star-tears disease, theyre the dumbest istg, who gave them the rights to be this dumb, wooyoung n seonghwa are bfs for like 3/4 of the story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:34:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24143686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sheepling/pseuds/sheepling
Summary: 星の涙病, or the star tears disease, is a disease in which the patient's eyes secrete star-like crystals with their tears, often caused by unrequited love.  the patient slowly loses the ability to perceive color and the memories linked to the person that triggered it, as well as their sight on a minor scale.///////////////or, in which san develops the star tears disease for his best friend and roommate, wooyoung.
Relationships: Choi San/Jung Wooyoung
Comments: 9
Kudos: 63





	1. san

**Author's Note:**

> ok so yeah this is my first ateez fic and it's a gift for my platonic wife! i hope u like it, ily :(
> 
> she physically forced me into the fandom so i blame her completely for this, but well aa i hope yall enjoy this!

his eyes itched. it felt like that time he got an eye infection, but this time he was _sure_ it wasn't one of those. or at least he hoped so.

choi san, 20 years old, born under the crab constellation and on the rabbit year, couldn't remember a time in his life when his eyes had annoyed him so much. so much, he even turned down his friend's request to play volleyball, and god, what he'd do to be playing right now.

groaning lightly, he laid back down on the grass and placed his arm over his eyes. maybe he was just tired? maybe he'd been straining his vision too much lately, who knew. should he go to the nurse's office? probably. will he, though? not a chance.

san had picked a nice little spot under a tree kind of far away from the campus' buildings to skip the last two lectures of the day and mope. why mope? simple, really. his best friend and crush (although he'd never accept he liked that _clown)_ , wooyoung, told him a little something that made his world collapse quite literally.

apparently he (a clown) was dating another one of their friends (and of all eight, it was their mom, seonghwa. was it because he was the best cook? was that what won his heart? a mystery san may never solve), and they'd been dating him for almost a _month_. of course, no one really suspected since they were all so busy with finals and projects and they barely even had time to hang out, but _still_ , wasn't san his best friend? his soulmate?

it didn't quite help that a pair of hours after the confession in breakfast that his eyes started itching like crazy. he really just wanted to cuddle shiber and cry, but oh the sad reality was that he forgot his keys and had to wait for his roommate (who also happened to be the cause of all his problems) to get out of his classes. meanwhile, he'd just mope. maybe even cry a bit, who knows.

after a bit of going around dumb scenarios wondering _why_ wooyoung hadn't told him he was dating someone, he got kind of bored. what fun was there in sitting underneath a tree and crying about how your crush doesn't love you, anyway? he picked up his backpack and tried to stand up. keyword: tried. his vision blurred and his knees bent, and before he knew it, he was back to laying on the grass. why did he feel so _weak_?

okay, maybe he really should go to the nurse's. or he could nap it off? san sighed and decided on the latter, he could deal with the consequences later. besides, he couldn't even stand up, and he doubted he could take himself to the nurse's office. as he laid down and got comfortable, he rubbed his eyes with his hand, but what he didn't expect was for it to end up wet. when had he even begun crying?

he sat up and wiped his eyes with his sweater's sleeve, and _oh_ , had someone dropped glitter onto his sleeve? the area was covered with small, star-like crystals that shone a pale pink under the faint rays of sunlight that managed to sneak through the leaves, and he'd probably be admiring them if he wasn't so confused.

upon closer examination of the glimmering dampness in his sweater, he realized something. those were his _tears_. this... was probably bad.

of course he knew about those rare, almost fantasy-like sicknesses that someone could acquire, he wouldn't be a good friend if he didn't (because a couple of his friends really liked talking about them, it was almost like a macabre curiosity and amazement of what emotions could do to the body if left unchecked long enough.), but he'd never heard about one like _this_.

sure, he knew all about hanahaki and the weird wendigo disorder and the flower buds and the molten rage disease, but one about crying _stars_? and _developing_ one of those diseases?

the probability of getting one was almost akin to winning the lottery (or having an extremely bad luck, depending on how you looked at it), and the fact that _he_ managed to develop one? it felt like a fever dream. objectively, san knew the chances of getting one weren't that low, but still. the concept had always seemed so distant to him, almost like if they were talking about a fantasy world far away from theirs. well, now he had one.

what could have caused it? sadness, anger, anxiety, stress, love? no, no, it definitely could _not_ be love, he _wasn't_ in love.

_/are you sure? last time i checked you were moping because wooyoung got a boyfriend, sannie./_

oh, how he hated that little voice in his head. of course he wasn't sad because wooyoung had a boyfriend, that would be too childish. it was because he hadn't _told_ him he had one that he was hurt, right? that he hadn't _trusted_ him enough to share that little secret with him was what felt like being sucker-punched in the gut. because well, weren't they _soulmates_?

oh, he was crying again. was it because he was extremely tired or was it because of the disease? probably both. except this time they itched a bit more as they fell and he could _feel_ them rolling against his cheeks, sharp little edges just barely scratching his skin. this time, though, they glimmered with a slightly blue tint to them, barely noticeable underneath the shade of the tree. 

it was dumb, crying about something so stupid as the fact that wooyoung didn't hell him he was dating someone, but he couldn't stop crying. the tears just kept coming and coming, little stars falling from his eyes and onto the grass, disappearing between the green like miniature fireflies and he couldn't _breathe_.

his chest hurt, almost as if someone was sitting on him and pressing down and down and down, keeping a hand wrapped around his neck to prevent him from breathing as he sobbed silently, hands cradling his head as he tried to steady himself. it _burnt_ , smoldered his insides until he couldn't think of anything more than the pain in his chest, and little by little, the burning simmered into a small, barely-there flame as quickly as it had started.

he breathed in slowly through his nose and ran a hand through his hair, trying to steady himself as he rocked slowly back and forth, tears still falling but at a much slower pace now. after a couple minutes, san managed to calm down completely and _god_ , was he tired.

maybe, just maybe after that little sobbing episode the unknown sickness would go away and he'd be able of returning to his routine. he could just pretend that nothing happened, that wooyoung's relationship hadn't rocked him to the very core and that he was okay, that he'd just caught a stomach bug and thus skipped last two periods but he was _okay_.

he didn't even notice when he'd started to doze off, and before he knew it, he was gone, wrapped in a warm cocoon of velvety darkness where he could finally _rest_.


	2. wooyoung

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> wooyoung has been noticing how san has been acting a bit weirdly but he doesn't have a lot to back it up tbh. he just hopes san will come around eventually.

something just wasn't right. wooyoung had no clue whatsoever of what could be wrong, but he had a feeling it had to do with san.

he'd been having that feeling for well over a week, but he didn't really have anything that could back it up. not when san wasn't really acting in a different way; well, maybe acting a bit more distant, but that he could understand though, he did keep his relationship with seonghwa a secret from him. and oh, did he regret it. even though san had told him not to worry about it and had forgiven him already, it still made his stomach tighten with guilt.

overall, he just couldn't brush off the feeling that something was wrong whenever he looked at his best friend, and it was driving him crazy. the only lead he had was when he found san practically passed out under a tree, but once he'd woken up he assured him he was fine, just tired. 

and the worst part is that he had no other choice but to believe him, wooyoung felt as if he didn't have the right to press for answers when he'd been the one to keep a whole relationship to himself. besides, even if his eyes were red, he looked okay. he helped san stand up and took him to their dorm, worry still plaguing his mind as he saw the state his best friend was in.

he wasn't lying when he said he was tired, though. dark circles surrounded his eyes and his skin looked so pale, he looked like he could barely walk. his eyes were kind of puffy, but he brushed it off since he'd just woken from a nap. wooyoung silently hoped that san would trust him if he was having trouble.

that had been about a week ago, and now they were sitting in a small café near campus having lunch with 6 other people. as much as he wanted to pay attention, his mind just kept wandering back to that day, trying to figure out what was going on. he was jolted back to reality when his boyfriend touched his arm softly.

"woo, are you..." he struggled a bit with finding the correct word. "are you okay?"

"a-ah, yeah, i'm just... thinking about some things, nothing important." seonghwa didn't seem entirely convinced, but thankfully he let it go after squeezing his shoulder once. 

on the other side of the table, hongjoong, san, yeosang and jongho were talking animatedly about something he couldn't really understand. at least it seemed interesting, and maybe it could distract him from his thoughts for a while.

"ah, our creative writing professor gave us an assignment to write about a topic we found interesting." hongjoong spoke excitedly, eyes shining as he moved his arms around. "anyone wanna bet on what i picked?"

the other three looked at each other with confusion written clearly on their faces. with hongjoong, it could range from minions to art, and well, they weren't quite sure of what it could be about. hesitantly, jongho spoke up.

"uh... song composing?"

"mmmmno! next!~"

"oh! minions!" 

"and have my teacher give me a C? no, thanks." hongjoong seemed pretty hyped about it, so wooyoung decided to give it a shot.

"maybe about those fictional diseases?"

"hey, they're not fictional, there are real cases registered!" he stretched across the table and flicked wooyoung's forehead before returning to his seat. "but yeah, its about one in particular. it's a pretty new one, and there isn't a lot of information about it so it will be fun to investigate."

and with that, san's eyes immediately flicked toward's hongjoong's. huh, maybe he'd gotten himself interested in those diseases?

"oh, really? what's it about?" jongho also seemed pretty interested.

"ah, it's one where the person affected cries star-like tears and the color receptors in their eyes slowly stop working. they can also go blind if the sickness remains for a long time. besides, they can experience memory loss besides a visibly milkier color to their eyes." hongjoong moved his hands around while he explained, clearly excited with talking about it. 

san's eyes flicked toward's wooyoung's, and for the second their eyes connected, he couldn't help the feeling that something was wrong from growing more. seonghwa held his hand under the table and gave it a squeeze, and only then he noticed just how tense his muscles where.

uncharacteristically quietly, san turned towards hongjoong and asked him in the smallest voice. "do you know what causes it? or at least how to cure it?"

"oh? so i've got you interested on them too?" it seemed like no one noticed just how quiet san's voice was, and the thought of something going on was driving wooyoung crazy. "well, it's kind of like hanahaki in this case. it's caused by pure, unrequited love and the only known way to fix it is by having the feelings corresponded. apparently it stops once the person forgets everything about the other they're in love with, but they're usually blind by then."

"oh, that's... really cool, hongjoong. i hope your professor gives you an A." even with his normal smile, wooyoung could see how affected san was by the whole conversation, and apparently, he wasn't the only one. "i'm going to the bathroom."

san picked up his phone and left the table calmly, but his hands were shaking so much and wooyoung just wanted to go after him and ask him what was wrong and-

but of course he couldn't, he didn't have the right to know if something was going on. yeosang also stood up and went after san, clearly worried about his friend, and well, wooyoung didn't want to acknowledge the little tendrils of jealousy coiling around his stomach once both of them returned after a little while. he did his best to ignore yeosang's hand right on the small of san's back, and the way it made his insides boil for some reason.

after that, the day passed by in a blur. he barely got any notes written down and he couldn't remember any of the day's lectures, much less whatever his friends were talking about. he went out to eat with seonghwa, but he just couldn't get his mind off san's face as he left the table and how much he was shaking; when his boyfriend asked him again what was wrong, he just couldn't bring himself to answer the truth.

once he finally returned to the dorm, though, he was a bit surprised to see san already curled up in his bed. he seemed asleep, but he'd been best friends with him for long enough to know he wasn't really sleeping. 

"hey, san?"

a muffled "mhm?" came from san's bed, followed by a soft, "yea, what happened, woo?"

"you know you can always count on me, right?"

"..." he saw how san's shoulders tensed up, only to be answered by a quiet "yeah, i know."

after a beat of silence, wooyoung spoke up again.

"i'm gonna shower first, okay?" the only confirmation he received was a muffled "mhm" as he picked up his pajamas.

just as he exited the room, he saw san's face pressed against his favorite plushie. wooyoung almost wanted to go and just tangle his fingers between his black strands of hair and hug him, he looked so tired and vulnerable and it made his chest tighten. with the soft light that managed to sneak through the curtains, he noticed something on his cheeks, and oh-

were those tears?

they looked too sparkly to be just tears, but oh, who was he to press san for answers? as he climbed into the shower, he couldn't do anything but hope san would come around eventually and tell him what was going on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos and comments are always welcome! i love to hear what yall think abt this story!


	3. san

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> san doesn't know how to deal with stuff and wooyoung is getting more and more worried

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a very dialogue-heavy chapter?? i'm not used to writing dialogues so i hope it flows nicely :(

the last few weeks felt like a fever dream to him. ever since they'd handed in their final projects, everything seemed to be an endless loop of monotone routine, and san was going insane. over the last week, his eyes had gone from itching to burning whenever he cried, and they looked so _pale_ when he looked in the mirror, like if they were covered by a thin layer of mist. 

well, maybe that last bit was biased, since he did start going colorblind at a slow pace. at least it wasn't anything too bad yet and he could just keep living his life on campus, even when he was forgetting things more often. lately, he'd taken to hanging around yeosang's dorm room, and it was relatively fun.

not as fun as being with wooyoung used to be, but it was getting a bit harder to be around him when he was the cause of this illness. san figured that hey, maybe if he distanced himself, his feelings would go away, right?

it was proving to be harder than he initially thought though. 

"so," yeosang began as soon as san sprawled himself over his bed, a worried look in his eyes that made him feel a bit guilty about involving him in all this. "i take you haven't talked to wooyoung yet, right?"

san groaned and covered his face with a pillow, shaking his head slightly.

"well, you probably should. you know he'd help you with all this more than anyone." of course, after a week of avoiding wooyoung as much as he could and shielding himself behind yeosang, he didn't think that was the best idea.

"he can't change his feelings just because he wants to, yeo. i'll only end up getting between him and seonghwa..." yeosang pursed his lips at san's words, and climbed on the bed next to him.

"well, i'm pretty sure you'll end up with more problems if you keep avoiding him like the plague, dumbass. i bet he's worried, you're his _best friend_."

"how are you so sure he is, though? he's probably relieved he doesn't have to deal with me right now."

"san, are you stupid? he adores you, don't be a pissy baby."

"i don't even remember why we're best friends, much less why he'd care so much about me."

and oh, he was crying again, all over yeosang's pillow. the tears burnt so much, but he just couldn't make them stop. 

"oh, san... c'mere" he felt how his friend wrapped him up in his arms and petted his hair, but god did it _hurt_. so far, only yeosang and him knew about the disease, but he was pretty sure that if the symptoms kept incrementing, then everyone would figure out sooner than later.

"he really adores you, you know? i've seen it with my own eyes, san. he'd do anything for you."

san just remained quiet, tears streaming down his face in small, sparkly rivers. after a couple minutes of silence and of slowly rocking back and forth, he spoke in a quiet voice.

"okay... i'll-" he breathed in, trying to stabilize himself. "i'll talk to him, but only if you promise me you'll share tomorrow's lunch with me."

"hey, you're only making that deal because there's fried chicken tomorrow!" he punched san's shoulder lightly, but didn't bother with hiding his smile. in a calmer voice, he continued. "okay, it's a deal."

a couple hours later, he was back in his dorm after showering, and he was dead set on finishing the project he had due for the next week. but, nothing ever really goes the way san would like them to go, do they? 

because, well, in front of san, stood the person he was looking to avoid, and to say wooyoung looked mad was probably an understatement. but even with a red face, dark circles around his eyes and arms crossed in front of his chest, san couldn't help but to find him _breathtaking_. 

and that's why he missed whatever wooyoung told him the first time he spoke.

"uh, what?" oh, he looked angrier now. but he couldn't take him seriously when his hair was so fluffed up he looked like an angry shiba puppy.

"i said, what's been going on with you, san? you've been avoiding me like crazy the past few weeks." he stepped forward, closing in on san's personal space, and well, he couldn't avoid getting red in the face with him so close after being distanced for well over two weeks. 

san couldn't speak, not with how close wooyoung was and less with the knot forming on his throat. and just like that, wooyoung's façade crumbled, eyes watering as he kept trying to look san in the eyes. 

"please, was it something i did? is that why you don't even acknowledge me in the mornings?" and at san's silence, he stepped away slightly, arms shaking. 

"wooyoung that's-" san moved forward, holding wooyoung's shoulders with his hands as he forced him to look at him in the eyes. "that's not what it is, please-"

"oh, then what is it, huh? what is it, san?!" both were crying now, and when san flinched away once wooyoung tried to wipe his tears, he backed away slowly.

"is that why...?" wooyoung just couldn't stop staring at the small, star-like crystals that sparkled over san's cheeks, and san saw in first person how the answer hit him like a truck.

and god, he hated the way wooyoung's face contorted into one of utter devastation once it did.

"yeah... i've got the star tears disease"

"why didn't you tell me?! i could have tried to found a cure, i could've helped you, i-" now he was pacing, and san stopped him by placing his hands on his shoulders.

"woo, you couldn't have helped me, i'm... i'm sorry."

"no, no, san, listen, i'll help you with anything i can. hongjoong said you'd have memory problems, i can tell you everything about all our friends if you forget."

"wooyoung-"

"no, _san_ , let me help you. you're my _best friend_ , i'd do anything for you.

with a sigh, san resigned himself to his fate, he knew he'd never win against wooyoung. silently, they both entered their room and laid in san's bed. it had been a while since they'd last done _that_.

"san."

"yeah?" he turned around, facing wooyoung.

"i'm quitting the dance team."

"w-what? why? isn't there where you spend the most time with seonghwa?

"i won't be able to help you if i'm stuck there for the whole afternoon."

and god, even if sometimes he had trouble remembering who wooyoung was and why he'd fallen in love with him, he couldn't help but remember why whenever he did things like _this_.

"you don't have to-"

"yeah, but i want to. besides, I've been very stressed with classes and the dance practices, and i think having a little time away from seonghwa could benefit us both."

they were quiet for a couple of seconds, until san broke the silence.

"woo?"

he heard wooyoung mumble a "mhm?" as he moved around, and he let out a shaky breath.

"i'm..." he struggled to find the words, but spoke again after a beat of silence. "i'm losing my sight quicker than i thought i would, woo."

"..."

that was it, san knew it was too good to be true, wooyoung would back down and leave him alone and-

"don't worry, i'll help you with everything i can."

and so they lay there for a couple more minutes, san resting his head on his pillow and wooyoung using his stomach as one. they were calm, it felt _nice_ to have this back. although, well, the mere thought of forgetting about the most important person in his life made his throat tighten uncomfortably. he knew it would happen sooner than later, but that didn't make it easier.

so, with a quiet, broken voice, he spoke again.

"wooyoung?"

"yeah?"

"could you tell me about how we met?"

to that, wooyoung snorted, and began his tale as he switched positions and laid on his stomach over san's. 

"of course, dumbass. how could i forget? it seemed like a normal day, except-"

slowly, san drifted off to sleep, with wooyoung's voice and his weight over his body as a small reminder that everything would be _okay_. 


	4. wooyoung

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> wooyoung comes to some... startling realizations and decides to act on them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> they're the dumbest istg.

oh, what wooyoung would do to go back to the time before this whole mess began. at least these past few weeks had been useful for thinking.

and boy did he use this free time to analyze his feelings.

over the last few weeks, he'd somehow found himself in a dilemma. which well, wasn't that surprising, with how much free time he had now compared to three weeks ago, but it was shocking. who would've thought a couple extra hours lazing around in their dorm room would result in self-discovery?

well, maybe he was finally realizing just how important san was to him.

the thought crept into his mind timidly, and it grew so slowly he didn't even notice it was there until it hit him in the face, which happened only after he realized just how bad san's eyesight was getting.

because knowing your best friend will eventually lose his memories and sight is one thing, but experiencing it first-hand is completely different. and god, did it hurt to look at san's eyes and to find a stranger staring back at him instead of the san he knew so well. instead of his _soulmate._

it seemed as if nothing he did was ever enough. no matter how many times he told san how they met or how many times he tried to get him to remember him, he'd just end up forgetting it all the next day. wooyoung would wake up, and then the san he'd recovered the day before was gone, replaced by someone who thought of him as nothing but a stranger.

little by little, the san he adored slipped away from his grasp, and he was desperate to find a cure. although that thought seemed so implausible now. sometimes wooyoung would find him curled up in his bed, crying so much it made his chest tighten with guilt. oh, how he wished he could climb up on his bed and hold him, but he was just a stranger now, and he couldn't do much more than wish he'd miraculously find a solution.

and well, the pain that caused him to see his best friend in such a state also made him realize some other things. maybe he'd noticed it while he was wondering how his world would be without san, or maybe it had been one night when he just couldn't help but stare at his peaceful sleeping face. he looked just like the san he knew so well it _hurt_ , but it didn't make a very big difference how he came to it. 

because, well, maybe, just maybe, wooyoung was in love with san. and maybe he'd been for a long, _long_ time, but he'd been too dumb to realize. 

and now he'd never get his san back, not with how things were going.

saturday rolled by far too quickly for his liking, and wooyoung had just woken up when he made the impulsive decision of telling san how he felt. on one hand, if only he was a bit more awake and he wasn't desperate for getting his best friend back, he would've died before even thinking of doing that. 

on the other hand, however, he didn't have a lot to lose, and san would just end up forgetting the conversation the next day. his mind was still groggy with sleep. besides, it would free him from that weight that had been sitting on his chest since he realized just how deep his affections were. it seemed like a relatively good decision.

it was barely past 7 in the morning, but he could already hear san moving around his stuff in his side of the room even with a pillow thrown over his head. which, well, was _loud,_ since he couldn't see much at this point. his chest painfully tightened at that thought, he just wanted everything to end.

he uncovered his head in a swift motion and squinted as he looked around the room. he was pretty surprised to find out the curtains had been opened and natural light was finally streaming through the windows, but what stood out the most to him wasn't that. it was san.

he was sitting on the floor between their two beds, and the thin rays of sunlight that sneaked in made him look so _ethereal_ , wooyoung wondered _how_ he hadn't noticed how madly in love he was before. over the last month, his eyes had acquired a pale, milky tonality, and the irises were barely recognizable from the rest of the eye. they reminded wooyoung of tiny, milky galaxies filled with stars. 

with a sudden burst of courage, he stood up and plopped onto the floor next to san, still staring at him.

"oh, hi... wooyoung, right?" he smiled lightly, completely oblivious to how much his words had affected wooyoung. "i feel like we've met before, but i just can't remember..."

hiding his grimacing face, he put up a smile and patted his best friend's head, eyes watery. "yeah, i know it's weird, sannie."

"sannie..? are we friends or something?" confusion was written clearly on his face, and wooyoung couldn't do much more than try to smile brighter, than try once again to make him remember him. 

"yeah, we're roommates, san. we've been friends for a long, long time..." 

"really? i feel kind of bad not remembering anything... oi, why are you staring at me? i know my eyes look weird but-"

"san, i love you."

he'd closed his eyes tight, afraid to see san's face and be faced with the reality that nothing had changed. because he wasn't who he was in love with, of course. because, deep down, he felt as if he'd never be enough to help san or even deserve his love.

he was scared, scared to open his eyes again and see san's milky ones looking at him like a stranger again and again and again. to never be able of seeing him smile or hear him call him "woo" with that soft voice he only ever used when they were alone

the silence from the other side of the room told him all he needed to know. this hadn't worked, of course it hadn't, it had been stupid to even consider it would. oh god, wooyoung was so dumb, so _dumb,_ believing it would fix it and-

"woo?" a whisper, barely even there, broke him from his thoughts.

slowly, oh so slowly, wooyoung opened his eyes and oh.

 _oh_ , was san beautiful. 

"wooy-"

"you're back."

because right in front of him, sitting on the floor between their two beds and with pale sunlight bouncing off his hair, was san. _his_ san. he was back, looking at him with so much _love_ and he-

wooyoung couldn't help the tears that were running down his cheeks.

he threw himself at his best friend, his soulmate, and trapped him in a hug as he whispered again and again "you're back, oh god you're back" while he cried against his shirt.

"yeah woo, i'm back, of course i am" san hugged him back just as tightly, and oh, he was crying too. except, this time the tears were no longer filled with stars and his eyes had returned to the lovely auburn wooyoung adored.

"i love you, i love you, i love you so much i-"

and then san was kissing him, hands cradling his cheeks as he pulled him closer. wooyoung melted into the kiss, tangling his hands in san's soft strands as they both cried, salty tears intermingling as they fell.

one kiss turned into another and soon wooyoung was straddling san's hips as they kissed, too overjoyed to even _think_ about stopping. although san was making it difficult to keep going every time he tried to speak.

"wooy-mh! wooyoung!" he finally gave in and stopped his assault to stare back at san. "what about seonghwa?"

"oh, is that what you're worried about? don't worry, we talked it out."

"what does that me-mph!" wooyoung was back to kissing him again, and he spoke between kisses.

"we decided we're better off as friends a week ago-eh!" oh, san had turned them around and now he was the one pressing wooyoung to the floor. how hadn't he noticed how much he loved him before?

"oh, so that means..." san smirked at him from above, eyes darkening as he took in the sight underneath him. he leaned down and spoke right on wooyoung's ear "you're all mine, right?"

wooyoung smirked back from underneath him and pulled him in for another kiss. "that, i am, dear."

"we should-"

a knock in the door caught their attention, and they could do nothing but stare at each other as the handle turned.

their friends were here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just the epilogue! idk if im characterizing them properly bc i just got into the fandom so any feedback is welcome, really!


	5. epilogue: yeosang

when his friends said they were going to break into wooyoung and san's dorm room, he didn't think they'd _actually_ do it. but well, here they were, six dumbasses trying to pick a lock just to mess with their friends.

it had all been yunho's idea, and had been instantly seconded by mingi and jongho. hongjoong agreed afterward, while both seonghwa and him just tagged along because why not. they claimed they were gonna barge in and wake them up, but judging from the light pants yeosang could hear coming from inside the room, he doubted it would be necessary.

he was pretty glad everything turned out to be okay. it took longer than he thought it would, but at least it had worked out.

"awh! come on! it can't be that hard to pick a lock!"

"i'm trying! youtube tutorials make it look so much easier." 

"guys... guys..." seonghwa was trying to get the other's attention, to no avail. meanwhile yeosang just watched it all unfold, amusement clear in his eyes.

his eyes crossed for a second with seonghwa's, and he felt his heart do a flip inside his chest. however, all he could do was look down and try to hide his blushing face behind his bangs. meanwhile, yunho had stolen the hairpin from hongjoong's hands and was trying to pick the lock himself, while jongho tried to stop mingi from doing the same.

that's when yeosang noticed something.

"guys, the door is-"

"unlocked, yeah." seonghwa was standing next to him, a fond look in his eyes as he stared at their dumbass friends. his proximity made his face redden a bit more, and he hoped he wouldn't notice. " i tried telling them. they're having fun though, so i'll just let them figure it out by themselves." 

"mmh, if you say so..."

after about five minutes and one hongjoong accidentally moving the door handle, they finally noticed the door was unlocked and barged into the room, only to find...

only to find san pinning wooyoung against the floor, lips bruised and cheeks flushed as they both panted.

a couple of seconds passed by in complete silence, until the choruses of screams began.

"YALL DROPPED OFF THE RADAR TWO WEEKS AGO AND THIS IS WHAT YALL HAVE BEEN DOING?!"

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN THESE PAST WEEKS?"

"are you guys okay?"

"WHY HAVEN'T WE HEARD OF YOU IN TWO WHOLE WEEKS, WE GO TO THE SAME CLASSES-"

"guys, guys, please-"

"it's really not what it looks like-"

it was probably a bad idea to get 8 people in one tiny dorm room, and even more so when it was like 8 a.m. 

"please just shut up!" 

ah, great, now everyone was looking at him. really, yeosang wasn't one to shout very often, but he hadn't eaten yet and it was 8 am and they were giving him a headache.

"san, could you please explain why you disappeared without a trace two weeks ago? we've been worried." seonghwa chimed in, almost as if to take the eyes away from him. he silently thanked him with a nod and focused his eyes back on san. well, he did know, but he wanted to hear what he'd say.

"ahh, that... well, wooyoung, why don't you tell them?"

"what?! why me?!"

"WERE YALL HAVING AN AFFAIR OR SOMETHING BECAUSE-"

"no, no it was nothing like that!"

with a sigh, he spoke up again. damn, he just wanted to have breakfast, is that too much to ask?

"san here had a case of star tears disease because both he and wooyoung were too dumb to realize they loved each other." everyone was silent for a couple more seconds, until 5 people crowded over san as they inspected him from head to toe.

"oh my god, are you okay?"

"why didn't you tell us?"

"but you're better now, right?"

"you aren't gonna forget us now, are you?"

"guys, please, give him some space-" well, at least wooyoung was trying to save his boyfri-

wait, were they boyfriends now? what about...

but when yeosang turned around to look at seonghwa, he found him looking at them with so much fondness, he knew he wasn't mad about this outcome. if he'd known him better, he would've even said he looked _glad_ they got together. well, if he was happy, then yeosang was too.

he kept himself pretty far away from the main commotion both mentally and physically, mind drifting off to god knows where, but he'd still catch glances of san looking his way with a worried expression. oh no, he had no right to be worried about him when he'd been the one to disappear and leave him wondering if he was even _alive_ at that point. 

after the members of their friend group had finished fussing over san and were apparently satisfied enough with the answers they forced out of both wooyoung and san, they were (finally) going to go have breakfast. before he knew it, though, all of them had already exited the room and were waiting outside for him.

"hey, you coming?" ah, of course seonghwa had to be the one to come back to pick him up.

"ah- yeah, just... let's go." his chest hurt a bit, but he'd be okay. 

as soon as they reunited with the group, though, he couldn't really disguise his coughs as just clearing his throat. that, of course, caught san's attention, and he drifted to the back of the group where yeosang was.

"yeo, are you okay? you've been coughing a lot lately." genuine concern shone in his eyes, but he really didn't want to make him worry.

"bold of you to say 'lately' when you hopped off the radar for two full weeks."

san snorted and shook his head. "yeah, i'm sorry about that. i guess. i can't remember much." and then, he raised his head and looked at him dead in the eyes. "but you've been coughing a lot since we were in the dorm. you sure you're okay?"

yeosang had to resist the urge to cough as he spoke again, in a quieter tone. "yeah, it's just a cold. nothing too serious." 

luckily for him, san believed him and went back to the front of the group after patting his head. he brought his hands to his mouth as coughs racked his body, and he could notice san's side glances towards him.

smiling lightly, he mouthed an "i'm okay" as he walked a bit closer to the group, and that seemed to satisfy san a bit more. he stuffed his hands into his sweater's pockets and sighed, the metallic taste of blood lingering in his mouth.

ah, no one had to notice the bloodied petals that stained his hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the end yall, i really enjoyed writing this fic and i hope you guys enjoyed reading it ;( as always, comments n kudos are always welcome and ty for reading!


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